Russia’s major Internet company Yandex said on Tuesday it had agreed to sell its news aggregator and website yandex.ru to rival VK, the Russian technology group that notably owns the state-controlled social network VKontakte. This move is likely to further limit Russia’s access to independent media, Reuters reports.

The all-stock deal, which will see Yandex acquire 100% of food delivery service Delivery Club, marks a major shift in Russia’s internet landscape, with Yandex effectively handing over control of online content distribution to a Kremlin-friendly player.

Moscow’s years-long crackdown on independent media suddenly intensified after Russia sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24, passing a law banning what it calls “false information” about the Russian armed forces and revoking the ability of many organizations to report freely.

“Yandex’s board of directors and management have concluded that the interests of the company’s stakeholders… are best served by continuing to strategically exit the media business and focus on other technologies and services,” Yandex said in a statement.

Nasdaq-listed Yandex, often called the “Russian Google”, has in recent years complied with Moscow’s demands and threatened fines for articles published on its news aggregator, drawing criticism for its influence on press freedom.

Yandex restricts access to sites, many of which are independent media banned by Roskomnadzor, and in February began warning Russian users looking for information about events in Ukraine about unreliable information on the Internet.

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